Former India player Aakash Chopra has named the plethora of all-rounders in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad as their biggest strength before IPL 2025. He added that the five-time champions prefer picking multifaceted players. However, three players with multiple skills – Ravindra Jadeja (₹18 crore), Shivam Dube (₹12 crore) and MS Dhoni (₹4 crore) – were among CSK’s five retentions before the IPL 2025 auction. Rachin Ravindra (₹4 crore), Ravichandran Ashwin (₹9.75 crore), Vijay Shankar (₹1.20 crore), Sam Curran (₹2.40 crore), Jamie Overton (₹1.50 crore) and Shreyas Gopal (₹30 lakh) were acquired by the franchise at the mega auction last November.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “The biggest strength of this team is the all-rounders because they have many. Rachin Ravindra and Shivam Dube bowl, Ravindra Jadeja bats and bowls, MS Dhoni is a proper batter, and Ravichandran Ashwin can bat. Sam Curran and Jamie Overton are also like that. They try to pick players who do two jobs. So all-round ability is top-class. They have experience and expertise. They always make a team filled with experience. They have a lot of experience, whether it’s Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaiwad, Jadeja, Ashwin or Dhoni. If you see every individual separately, you will find quality everywhere.”
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Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also chose three potent spinners’ presence as another of the Chennai Super Kings’ strengths before IPL 2025 as well.
“Spin is phenomenal because they have Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Noor Ahmad. As soon as the ball starts turning, they can unleash three spinners. On a turning surface, Ashwin, Jadeja and Noor, how will you hit the ball far? So that is their big, big, big strength. They have a plethora of fast-bowling options. They have tried to cover all the bases. So I do feel that they have a strength in this department as well. Last but not the least, they do very well at home. This team has made Chepauk a fortress,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
